Pirates: Your emperor has returned!

Rowan looked at Enel and smiled kindly, "Would you like to give it a try?"

Enel suddenly shivered, but then he thought that Rowan's words seemed to make sense, so he continued to observe Shandora while maintaining a certain distance.

For Enel, Shandora's astonishing gold reserves were undoubtedly the most suitable metal for a "god," so he had coveted it for a long time and had secretly sneaked into Apayado many times to observe it.

This is why Enel was able to rush here immediately.

But at this moment, Shandora felt somewhat unfamiliar to Enel, as if it were completely different from the ancient city he had seen before.

It was a feeling brimming with vitality.

Is it because the sand has brought back the people who lived in it?

Enel looked at the girl who had helped him up, leaned closer, and sized her up.

The girl made a slightly shy expression, which was quite vivid. Enel was taken aback and asked Rowan with great curiosity, "You resurrected them?"

"Do not."

Rowan shook his head. "I was just trying to recreate Shandora's past through simulation."

Enel paused, "So..."

"So, this scene is just a mirage; there are only the two of us here," Rowan said slowly.

At the same time, the girl tilted her head slightly and looked at Enel.

Enel immediately shifted his gaze, his curiosity growing even stronger.

"Why would you go through all this trouble just to see that long-destroyed Golden City?"

This is not simply about filling this huge city with sand; every person formed from sand has a completely different appearance, mannerisms, and clothing!

Enel didn't know how Rowan managed to pull off such an exaggerated scene, but he was certain that it must have taken a lot of effort.

The proof is that Rowan could only sit on the ground and let the sand he condensed pull him up.

Rowan stroked his chin, his brows furrowing slightly. "There are some things I'm curious about, so I tried to simulate the former Shandora to see if I could find any clues."

Enel thought for a moment, "If you're looking for a strange stone, it's in the northwest."

Rowan knew exactly what Enel was talking about; it was a Poneglyph located on Skypiea, which should still contain Roger's information.

But that wasn't the one Rowan was looking for.

Nefertari had included this sentence in a message she left for Rowan—

Although some very noteworthy 'things' were discovered, the investigation could no longer proceed.

What exactly did Nefertari and the others discover?

The Five Elders? The World Government? Ancient Weapons? Or something else entirely?

Unfortunately, after that century of blank space, there are very few historical records left about eight hundred years ago.

To understand what Nefertari left behind, we need to start with those things the World Government "cannot erase" and try to investigate clues from hundreds of years ago.

For example, the ancient city of Shandora right before our eyes.

Rowan re-simulated the city's operational state, hoping to discover something useful.

Before long, some doubts began to arise in Rowan's mind.

This city... it's too much like a city.

His functions were quite sophisticated, even to the point of being cumbersome.

If allowed, Rowan even thought that Shandora could choose to isolate herself from the world and become self-sufficient!

This doesn't look like a lost ancient city at all.

"It" is too complicated.

[69. Chapter Sixty-Nine: Nature-Based Traits]

The Island of Gods, Apayado.

The terrifying sandstorm and thunder had subsided long ago, meaning that Rowan and Enel's battle was long over.

Led by Dalton, the members of the Four Seas Alliance ventured deeper into the heart of Apayado.

On the way, they suddenly heard a horse neigh.

Swish!

Before the words had even finished, a figure riding a celestial horse suddenly descended from the sky and landed in front of everyone.

Crocodile stepped forward with a cold smile, his five fingers coming together to form a sand-shaped scimitar.

"Oh, here comes the one who's asking for it."

Clearly, he was quite dissatisfied with the performance of the priestly troops and hadn't had enough of fighting.

But the knight on the winged horse stretched out his hand, indicating that he had no intention of fighting.

"Wait a minute!"

That person was none other than Gan Fall, the current god of Sky Island, the Sky Knight.

At the same time, a man jumped off his horse; it was Hab, the meteorologist who had previously delivered a letter to Gan Faure.

Crocodile was clearly surprised to see Habu still alive.

How did you survive?

Even the aftershocks of a battle between Logia-type Devil Fruit users are enough to kill an ordinary person.

Hab's ability to survive the thunder and sandstorm and successfully deliver the letter suggests that either he was incredibly lucky or he had his own methods.

Crocodile never believed in luck, so he was very interested in Hab's methods.

Habu scratched his head, organizing his thoughts, "It's nothing, I'm just very familiar with sandstorms and thunderstorms, so I just... walked over?"

The tone was very unconfident, but the content of the words was quite confident.

It's a feeling of having extreme confidence in what you've learned.

But Crocodile clearly didn't believe that explanation. "Logia-type Devil Fruits—you Sky Island people might not know about them, but their abilities are far beyond your imagination."

"Devil Fruits... I've seen them in my teacher's notes. If it's a Logia-type Devil Fruit, does that mean it grants a person the power of nature?"

Habu pulled out his notebook, made some edits, and casually asked, "Is the Logia type... the weakest of all Devil Fruits?"

"weak?"

Crocodile frowned, transformed into a sandstorm, and flashed in front of Habu, grabbing Habu's head with one hand, his face grim.

Am I weak?

"Very strong."

Habu nodded and repeated, "You are very strong."

Crocodile then released Habu and frowned, saying, "Then who do you think is weaker?"

"Logia-type Devil Fruit".

Habu rubbed his aching head, seemingly afraid of being pulled again, and added in detail: "It's not that nature-type is weak, it's just that the characteristics of 'nature' itself are too distinct, which is a disadvantage in battle, isn't it?"

"distinct?"

Crocodile did not understand Hab's words.

Hab continued to explain, "Just like the lightning just now, if I were wearing a rubber cloak, I might have been able to travel much faster—unfortunately, there's no such thing as rubber on the Sky Island."

Crocodile realized that what Habu meant by "distinctive characteristics" was actually the "nature" possessed by Logia-type Devil Fruit users, who cannot avoid the characteristics of nature itself.

Fire is hot, ice is cold, it has always been so.

But... does this have anything to do with strength or weakness?

Looking into Crocodile's eyes, Hab suddenly said, "You and Mr. Rowan, are you Sand?"

Crocodile nodded.

Habu stroked his chin and suddenly said, "Then you guys must have a special reaction to water... Waaaaah!"

Before Hab could finish speaking, Crocodile covered his mouth and placed a sharp gravel scimitar against his neck.

"Don't continue. Silence is best."

Crocodile's voice was icy, "If you don't keep quiet, I'll silence you, understand?"

Habu nodded repeatedly, and Crocodile finally released him.

……

Meanwhile, Gan Fall had already explained the purpose of his visit to Dalton.

Rowan had already explained the purpose of the Four Seas Alliance's trip to Gan Fall in his letter.

Since Enel and his group have been defeated, and the Four Seas Alliance has no hostile intentions to invade, there is naturally no need for Skypiea and the Four Seas Alliance to continue fighting.

They joined forces and advanced toward the center of Apayado.

"That is the ruins of the ancient city of Shandora."

Gan Fur explained, "There are many metals there, which seem to be called gold in Qinghai, and they are very valuable in Qinghai."

……

Throughout the journey, Crocodile kept observing Hab.

Most Devil Fruit users have absolute confidence in their abilities, and that is indeed the case.

Theoretically speaking, anyone who develops the power of any Devil Fruit to its fullest potential can become a renowned and powerful individual.

The difference lies in the fact that some Devil Fruits have a higher starting point, possessing terrifying power from birth, such as Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit.

The same goes for Crocodile.

He never doubted his Devil Fruit ability, and he would never say anything stupid like "The Sand-Sand Fruit is no match for the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, which is why I was defeated".

But now Crocodile heard a theory from Hab that he could not ignore.

The abilities granted by Logia-type Devil Fruits are essentially "natural".

—Nature itself, which is closely related to people and has been with them since ancient times.